In various industries it is preferable to work, test, assemble, and the like, in an environment that is isolated from normal ambient conditions. For example, it can be preferable for such activities to be contained in a substantially dirtier environment than the ambient conditions, such as hot cells or laboratories, so inside waste does not substantially affect conditions on the outside. In other examples, such as medical and pharmaceutical applications, it may be preferable for activities to occur in a substantially cleaner environment, where outside debris and bacteria cannot substantially affect conditions in the clean environment. A sealed glove system facilitates the performance of work within an enclosure by an operator outside of the enclosure in extending a hand and arm through a glove sealed in a port in a barrier wall of the enclosure.
Gloves for remote handling of substances within a glove box are wear parts. Constant flexing of a glove by the user will naturally cause leakage if not replaced according to a regular maintenance schedule. Also, it is sometimes desirable for other components to be positioned in the glove box port, such as a plug or a bag. In some systems, however, replacement is a time consuming job and can require up to four trained people to replace a glove. The replacement process in these systems also generates a lot of waste, shuts down production, and utilizes costly labor. Replacement in these systems can also be made safer by reducing the occurrence of a glove breach causing contamination of the area outside the glovebox. Other glove box systems are designed for ease of use and include structures that facilitate easy replacement of the glove or sealing of the port. For example, the Sealed Pass-Through Enclosure System is a glove box system available from Central Research Laboratories of Red Wing, Minn. The exchange of gloves, plugs or other components in the opening of the glove box is simple, rapid and integrity of the glove box is maintained during the exchange, due in part to the structure of the glove box port ring. However, it is not possible to use the components of this system with a pre-existing glove box port that does not have the same structures.
What is needed is a gloveport retrofit system that allows for glove servicing of potentially only one person, and a quicker, easier, safer, and less costly replacement process.